In 1965, the Rolling Stones were finally making
a major international act. Their then new single, (I Can’t Get No)
Satisfaction, their fourth number one single in the UK, finally found them atop
the charts in America, the first time they would accomplish this. At that time,
a number one hit was a prerequisite for a British band to star in a movie. The
Beatles had starred in A Hard Day’s Night (1964) and Help! (1965); Gerry and
The Pacemakers starred in Ferry Cross the Mersey (1965) and The Dave Clark Five
in Having A Wild Weekend (1965); so why not the Rolling Stones? At least Andrew
Loog Oldham, the Stones then manager/producer, anticipated that possibility.

With the band getting ready for a quick second
tour of Ireland, Oldham hired Peter Whitehead, a relatively new filmmaker, who
would go on to document the counter culture in London and New York, to film the
band on their two day tour, September 3 and 4, 1965. He didn’t intend for the
footage to be shown, but instead wanted the band to become comfortable with
having a camera around recording them. Whitehead was given complete access to
the band, literally following them on their car trip to Heathrow all the way
through to their return flight back to London.

Mick Jagger, Charlie Watts and Brian Jones sleep on the plane back to London.

While no feature film deal came to pass for the
Stones, what we are left with is a documentary that is sort of like the Rolling
Stones starring in A Hard Day’s Night. We not only see the band before the
show, in concert and relaxing afterward, we also see them writing songs, playing
The Beatles’, I’ve Just Seen a Face and Eight Days a Week, as well as taking
stabs at Elvis Presley and Fats Domino standards.

Keith Richards and Jagger playing and singing in their hotel room

There are snippets of interviews with the
individual members of the band, as well as them in what appear to be impromptu
press conferences. Like other British musicians, the Stones come across as
thoughtful and well-spoken young men. Like most people in their early-twenties,
they don’t seem to be thinking much about the future, unsure how long the ride
on the Rolling Stones train would last. (They had no way of knowing that they
would still be playing together nearly fifty years later.) Guitarist Brian
Jones, who would be kicked out of the band and die in 1969, even speaks about
his uncertainty of the band’s as well as his own future.

Guitarist Jones would be kicked out of the group four years later.

During this tour, the Stones played two
concerts in Dublin at the Adelphi Theatre and two the following night at the
ABC Theatre in Belfast. During the second Dublin concert, the band is only
about three songs into their set when fans, mostly boys, run on stage and grab
at the members of the band, thus ending the show. Later, Bill Wyman, bassist,
who seemed no worse for the wear, would say that the fans were just looking for
contact with the band.

Jones and Jagger performing just before the stage is rushed.

The film would see a premiere at the Mannheim
Film Festival in October 1966, but otherwise would not get an official release
until 2012, when Whitehead’s film was restored with the help of Mick Gochanour
and Robin Klein, the producers on previous Stones restored documentaries, such
as The Rolling Stones Rock and Roll Circus (1996) and Get Your Ya Ya’s Out
(2009). Klein, the Director of Film at ABKCO, is the daughter of Allen Klein,
the group’s former manager and owner of their early recordings, including this
film. Klein bought out Oldham’s interest in the group in 1966, though the
latter continued to produce the group until 1967.

Footage that was shelved for years was
painstakingly restored as each frame was scanned into 2K and cleaned up. The
sound went through a similar process, so we’re left with not only the best
possible picture, but audio as well. Additionally, found footage of Mick Jagger
and Keith Richards writing together was added to pad out the film to its
current run time.

According to Oldham, who was interviewed separately
by Dave Grohl, a rocker and documentarian in his own right, Sound City (2013), the
film got its name from the fact the camera seemed to love drummer Charlie
Watts, the same way, according to him, the camera did Ringo Starr in the
Beatles films. Watts is a shy star, stating quite honestly that he’s only
really happy when he’s at home.

Stones drummer Charlie Watts.

There is a presence around the edges of the
Beatles throughout the film. Not only do they come up in the interviews with
the bandmates and the Stones goof around with a couple of their rival's lesser
songs, but the whole film seems to be a reality film in the vein of A Hard
Day’s Night. Rather than competition, Oldham would also say The Dave Clark Five
and Herman’s Hermits were the Beatles' closest chart competitors; the Stones
seem to pay tribute to them with the same mocking respect they give to earlier
rock and roll legends like Presley and Domino.

Bassist Bill Wyman, Jones, Jagger and Richards on stage.

But the Stones are the true stars of this film.
They come across as smart and well-spoken young men who are consciously not the
same on stage as off. But on stage then, and now, is where the group
shines.We get to witness the group play
some very raw live renditions of their early hits, The Last Time (which opens
one of the shows), Time Is On My Side and Satisfaction. But the real treat are
the behind the scenes footage, whether it’s Richards having his hair pulled by
fans while they wait to board the plane at Heathrow or the group asleep on the
flight back after the tour. This is a very nice insight into a band at the
brink of superstardom. No one at the time could have predicted that the group
would still be viable 50 years later, but that’s what makes this such a great
and enjoyable find.